Former alderman Gavin Brown is now the new mayor of Waynesville, unseating 16-year incumbent Henry Foy.

The two candidates were aligned on almost all issues but one — Brown has promised to make a liquor by the drink referendum one of his first priorities in office. Foy was opposed to bringing liquor to Waynesville.

“I drove down Main Street tonight and I said to myself, who wouldn’t want to be mayor of this town? Waynesville is the greatest place in the world. It’s an honor,” Brown said.

“I don’t see myself as mayor. I see myself as a sort of director of a symphony or an orchestra. I’m not out front. Back as alderman, I was a different person. As mayor, my job is to coordinate and bring together four votes and get things going in a direction that everybody agrees with,” Brown said.

Foy, a retired architect who led Waynesville through a time of progressive growth that completely revitalized the downtown area, said Brown’s leadership style will differ from his.

“He’s an organizer and he’s a parliamentarian. I said in the beginning that I’m an architect. Gavin’s a lawyer — he’ll do things in a different way,” Foy said.

Foy and Brown have worked closely on the town board for years and had nothing but nice things to say about one another during the campaign.

“I think we’ve got a good man. We’ve got a younger man, and I’m real pleased because he’s been a big help to me in the past as alderman. We’ve had a good relationship. I know he’s going to do a good job,” Foy said.

“Henry Foy has been one of the greatest assets the community has ever had,” Brown said. Brown expressed his desire for Foy to serve on various town boards and said he’ll undoubtedly be calling the former mayor to ask for advice.

“He has vast knowledge and experience,” Brown said.

Alderman’s Race

The three incumbents running for re-election — Libba Feichter, Kenneth Moore and Gary Caldwell — again won their seats on the town board. LeRoy Roberson, an optometrist and former alderman, won the seat given up by Gavin Brown, now the town’s mayor.

Roberson is aligned with the incumbents in support of the town’s land-use plan, which has played a key role in this year’s elections. He’s also in favor of forest management in the town’s watershed, as was Brown.